TikTok ads will now include AI avatars of creators and stock actors

TikTok announced on Monday that it’s introducing generative AI avatars of creators and stock actors for branded content and ads on its platform. The company is also launching an “AI Dubbing” tool for creators and brands to expand the reach of their ads and branded content. 

The new “Custom Avatars” are designed to represent a creator or a brand spokesperson. Creators can choose to scale their likeness to create multilingual avatars to expand their global reach and brand collaborations, TikTok says. Brands can create avatars with their spokesperson or a creator they have partnered with to localize their global campaigns. 

There are also new “Stock Avatars,” which are pre-built avatars created using paid actors who are licensed for commercial use. The idea behind these avatars is to give businesses a way to add a human touch to their content. TikTok says the avatars are created with actors from a range of backgrounds, nationalities and languages. 

The launch of the new tools might be concerning for some. Hollywood actors went on strike last year over several different concerns about AI, including the fear that their likenesses would be used to generate AI replicas. With TikTok’s new AI avatars, creators have control over whether they want their likeness used. Creators can also determine their rates, licensing and who can use their avatar.

As for the new AI Dubbing tool, it will allow creators and brands to translate their content into 10 languages, including English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. It automatically detects the language in a video, and then transcribes and translates the content to produce a dubbed video in the preferred language. TikTok says the new feature lets creators and brands communicate with global audiences. 

The launch comes as TikTok recently revealed that 61% of users have made a purchase either directly on TikTok or after seeing an ad.

The new features will be available as part of “TikTok Symphony,” the company’s suite of ads solutions powered by generative AI, which was launched in May. The suite includes tools to help marketers write scripts, produce videos and enhance current assets. 

TikTok is building out its ads business despite facing a potential ban in the U.S. if its parent company, ByteDance, fails to sell the app within a year.